Charges without Conviction? Baltimore Prosecutor under Fire

Charges without Conviction? Baltimore Prosecutor under Fire

Article excerpt

With two trials and no convictions in the death of Baltimore's
Freddie Gray, critics say that the prosecution may have moved too
fast in bringing charges against police officers involved.

When Baltimore-area prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby quickly levied
charges against six police officers in the death of Mr. Gray, many
observers were pleased that justice was being carried out so
quickly, especially following the decisions not to prosecute
officers in other high-profile deaths of black men at the hands of
police officers in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City. Now, critics
are saying that the time may not have been right for Ms. Mosby to
lay charges.

"This speaks to the notion a lot of people had when this first
happened, which is that it was a rush to judgment," former civil
rights prosecutor David Weinstein told the Associated Press. "The
state's attorney was trying to balance what she had with the public
outcry and call to action given the climate in Baltimore and across
the US concerning policing, and I think she was overreaching."

Mosby, the state's youngest ever top prosecutor, was responding
in part to public outcry after Gray's death when she levied charges
just weeks after the incident, and just a day after receiving the
Baltimore Police Department's investigation.

"To the youth of this city, I will seek justice on your behalf,"
Mosby told reporters during her announcement of the charges on May
1, 2015. "As young people our time is now."

That announcement was welcome news to enraged Baltimoreans who
had taken to the streets in the wake of Gray's death in tense, and
at times violent, protest. Gray's death quickly became symbolic of
what activists described as a pattern of aggressive policing and
mistreatment of black residents.

When Freddie Gray fled after making eye contact with police
officers on April 12, 2015, officers gave chase. They arrested him
on charges of having an illegal switchblade, though the legality of
the knife Mr. Gray carried is still in question.

Although Gray repeatedly called for medical attention, his
requests for help were ignored as he was carried, handcuffed but not
fastened in a seatbelt, in the back of a police car for 45 minutes. …